Due to the high angular velocities of gas turbine engine rotors, various challenges arise for the person designing a new rotor blade, including vibrations in the turbine blades. Various methods and/or blade configurations exist for addressing such challenges. For instance, it is known to remove a trailing edge portion near the tip of a turbine blade in order to tune the modes of vibration of a blade. This is sometimes referred to as providing a “cut-back” on the blade, which in essence removes the portion of the airfoil subject to so-called second mode bending. However, the removal of this portion of the turbine blade tends to sacrifice aerodynamic performance.
In light of these problems affecting turbine blades, improvements are sought.